We are days away from Bad Bunny’s highly anticipated Super Bowl Halftime show. While I can’t guarantee that completing your Duolingo Spanish lessons will have you ready to sing along during the Puerto Rican star’s performance, I can help you get more familiar with the artist whose infectious music has captivated Spanish- and non-Spanish-speaking listeners alike, making him the first Latin artist to win a Grammy for Album of the Year for an album sung primarily in Spanish. His Super Bowl appointment, unsurprisingly, sent conservatives into an uproar.
Here are 5 fun facts about Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, famously known as Bad Bunny.
- His stage name stems from a childhood memory
Ironically, the name “Bad Bunny,” which has taken over headlines, came from a childhood moment Benito never imagined would inspire his musical ambitions. During an interview with the Today show, the Grammy winner revealed that his stage name was inspired by a picture of him as a kid, pouting in a bunny costume.
“It’s funny because I always say that I was mad that day [in] that picture,” he recalled, laughing. “There’s no bad bunnies, I think. Even a bad bunny is gonna look like a good bunny. So it fit perfect on me because I could be bad, I could be good.”
- Once upon a time, Bad Bunny was a SoundCloud rapper.
Though his interest in performing sparked at just seven years old, Bad Bunny’s rise to stardom didn’t happen overnight. By 13, he was writing his own songs, inspired by Puerto Rican legends like Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Héctor Lavoe, and Vico C.
Between studying audiovisual communication at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo and bagging groceries, Benito found time to post his music on SoundCloud, uploading his first track to the online music site in 2015, and in 2016, his song “Diles” kick-started his career.
- His collaborations with Black stars helped propel him into international stardom
After signing to Hear This Music, Bad Bunny appeared on Cardi B’s hit song “I Like It” in 2018. His verse on the Hot 100-topping track, which charted No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, served as his first introduction to American audiences.
That same year, he released his debut studio album and continued building global momentum through international collaborations, including a joint album with Colombian artist J. Balvin, which featured an afrobeats/reggaeton-infused track with Mr. Eazi.
- From Puerto Rican rights to Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights, Bad Bunny’s advocacy goes beyond music
In addition to creating music that triggers the dancing bones in everyone, fans fell in love with Bad Bunny’s unapologetically outspoken nature. Throughout his career, Bad Bunny has used his platform to stand up for social issues in Puerto Rico and the U.S. In 2020, he released a “lyrical statement” through Time Magazine in light of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
“Forgive my silence. But I can’t even believe this is still happening,” he wrote in the statement that read like a poem. “It hurts to know that people are still being killed because of the color of their skin. LIVING IN A WORLD LIKE THIS, NONE OF US CAN BREATHE!
F–K DONALD TRUMP!
PRESIDENT OF RACISM!
YOUR HATE AND TYRANNY,
THAT’S TERRORISM.
DON’T STOP THE FIGHT,
DON’T LOWER YOUR FISTS,
KNOW THAT WE ARE ALL HOME,
THAT THIS IS OUR LAND.”
He later echoed these sentiments in his song “Compositor del Año,” released on SoundCloud.
- This is not his first time performing at the Super Bowl
Though this is his first year headlining a Super Bowl halftime performance, Bad Bunny knows what it’s like to perform at the football championship game. In 2020, he was a surprise guest during Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s co-headlining halftime show during Super Bowl LIV.
Ultimately, as fans prepare for what will likely be the first predominantly Spanish Super Bowl halftime performance, understand that, like many of us, Bad Bunny’s work as an artist, activist, and budding actor is deeply rooted in his culture and in his commitment to honoring those who came before him.
